“Our material is the most electrically conductive material on the market right now and is the best option for 3-D printing of electronics,” claimed Daniel Stolyarov, who along with Elena Polyakova, are Co-CEOs, in an e-mail interview. “Even though our material is more expensive, you only need a very small amount (a few grams), which would cost as low as $1, along with regular material to make 3-D printed electronics. Without graphene this is not possible.”

Stolyarov believes that this graphene-enabled polymer filament is unique on the market in its ability to impart electrical conductivity. Stolyarov argues that their product compares favorably to other 3-D printing filaments that have at best a volume resistivity of 15 Ohms-centimeter (Ohms-cm), whereas Black Magic 3D’s volume resistivity measures at 0.6 Ohms-cm—25 times better. According to Stolyarov, 15 Ohms-cm is just not good enough for most of electronic applications. If electrical properties are poor, the device will not work properly.

Stolyarov has pointed to the emerging trend of 3-D printed electronics, which he believes may soon show explosive growth. An indication of this potential was the recent launch of a new 3-D printer from a company called Voxel8 that specifically targets the printing of electronics and circuitry.

However, Stolyarov is quick to note that his company’s graphene-based filament can be used with just about any 3-D printer on the market now, from hobbyist to industrial.

To demonstrate how the graphene-based filament can fabricate devices requiring high thermal and electrical conductivity, the company produced a battery. It seems that this battery design remains primarily to demonstrate the capabilities of the graphene 3-D printing filament.

“The 3-D printed graphene battery project is still being developed and we are very much looking forward to offering more details on the technology in the future,” said Stolyarov.